About 54% of households in the United States have a member who plays an instrument. Not surprisingly, most individuals began their music study at a young age, with 64 percent beginning between the ages of 5 to 11, and 18 percent between the ages of 12 to 14.
Edge-blown aerophones is one of the categories of musical instruments found in the Hornbostel-Sachs system of musical instrument classification. In order to produce sound with these Aerophones the player makes a ribbon-shaped flow of air with his lips or his breath is directed through a duct against an edge. A flute produces sound when a stream of air directed across a hole in the instrument creates a vibration of air at the hole. The air stream across this hole creates a Bernoulli, or siphon. This excites the air contained in the usually cylindrical resonant cavity within the flute. The player changes the pitch of the sound produced by opening and closing holes in the body of the instrument, thus changing the effective length of the resonator and its corresponding resonant frequency. By varying the air pressure, a flute player can also change the pitch of a note by causing the air in the flute to resonate at a harmonic other than the fundamental frequency without opening or closing any holes.
The air stream must be directed at the correct angle and velocity, or else the air in the flute will not vibrate. In non-fipple flutes, the air stream is shaped and directed by the player's lips, called the embouchure. This allows the player a wide range of expression in pitch, volume, and timbre, especially in comparison to fipple/ducted flutes. However, it also makes an end blown flute or transverse flute considerably more difficult for a beginner to produce a full sound on than a ducted flute, such as the recorder. Transverse and end-blown flutes also take more air to play, which requires deeper breathing and makes circular breathing a considerably trickier proposition.
The embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of woodwind instruments or the mouthpiece of the brass instruments. The word is of French origin and is related to the root bouche (fr.), ‘mouth’. The proper embouchure allows the instrumentalist to play the instrument at its full range with a full, clear tone and without strain or damage to one's muscles, sometimes requiring many lessons before any sound can be produced.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,637,239 is directed to an embouchure open arch which fits just under the player's nose and prevents the flute from rolling and producing off-tone notes.
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/329,197 relates to a flute attachment with a thumb guard to prevent flute rotation during playing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,599,526 is a U-shaped saddle-like device which can be permanently or detachably secured to any flute-like wind instrument having an open embouchure hole.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,970,932 and 4,922,793 disclose a mouthpiece plate for a flute-type wind instrument. One embodiment of the mouthpiece plate or a portion thereof is pivotable or movable to provide incremental adjustments of the movable portion. In an alternative embodiment, the mouthpiece plate is fixed but has a shape which provides stability for the instrument and aids in establishing optimum embouchure. In another alternative embodiment of the invention a mound-like projection element is integrally or releasably affixed to the mouthpiece plate to provide further support for the lower lip.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,401 is directed to a mouthpiece plate for a flute-type wind instrument. The mouthpiece plate or a portion thereof is pivotable or movable to provide for incremental adjustments of the movable portion to assist the flutist in establishing the optimum embouchure for his or her facial skeletal and muscular characteristics. In an alternative embodiment, the mouthpiece plate is fixed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,579 is directed to a device with a lip plate with a front surface and which splits a stream of air over the top and below the lip plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,077 is a training device with a pressure sensor which assists in determining whether air support applied to a musical instrument is sufficient to produce an acceptable musical tone.
Taiwan Serial No. 094213789 (U.S. Pub. No. 20070044635) is directed to a flute attachment which includes a securing member attached to a lower flute surface for resting the thumb of a flute player. A tab end and the rear pad region define a thumb abutting area for application of forces to prevent undesirable rotation of the flute about the flute axis and to prevent undesirable downward displacement and deviation of the flute during playing.
Mastering the embouchure is often difficult and the individual is quickly dissuaded. There remains a need for devices which assist an individual in playing and/or learning to play a flute. Accordingly, the present invention solves these problems and encourages the individual to learn to play and/or perfect playing of a flute with ease and in a short period of time.